Midstate can expect up to 6 inches of rain and winds strong enough to bring down trees

Hurricane Sandy is expected to unleash the worst of its fury on central Pennsylvania Monday, with the potential to cause flash flooding, down trees and leave tens of thousands without electricity for up to a week.

As much as 6 inches of rain is expected to fall through Tuesday, and winds could be as high as 60 mph in the Harrisburg area today, according to the National Weather Service in State College.

The winds are not hurricane force, National Weather Service meteorologist David Martin said, but strong enough to bring down branches and trees, especially those with weak roots or on uneven ground.

Sand is piled into barriers at Coney Island beach in New York on Sunday in preparation for Hurricane Sandy.CRAIG RUTTLE, The Associated Press

“Be prepared to be without power,” Martin said. “If you’re out traveling, watch out for downed branches. It won’t be a good day for walking around in the neighborhood.”

In an automated phone call Sunday, PPL Electric, which serves much of the midstate, told its 1.1 million customers to be prepared for power outages that could last a week or longer. The company described Sandy as “a historic storm that we expect will bring unprecedented damage.”

More than 1,500 workers from other areas of the country are supplementing PPL’s workforce, which has been preparing for the storm for days. First Energy, the area’s other main electric company, secured outside utility crews and electrical contractors for help with restoring power, and tree contractors.

Due to the high winds, it could be several days before crews can make repairs to damaged lines. “Safety must be the top priority for you as well as the workers who will be restoring power,” PPL told its customers.

In anticipation of outages, several school districts — including Harrisburg, Derry Township, Cumberland Valley, East Pennsboro, Central Dauphin, Susquehanna Township, Lower Dauphin, Camp Hill, Carlisle Area, West Shore and Middletown Area — canceled school today and some for Tuesday. Harrisburg Area Community College canceled its classes through Tuesday.

Thousands of people flocked to area grocery stores to pick up food, water and supplies for the next week. Many reported seeing bare shelves Sunday night, and stores were scrambling to schedule more shipments to meet the demand.

Local governments across the midstate such as Harrisburg, Steelton and Dauphin County declared states of emergency on Sunday. On Friday, Gov. Tom Corbett declared a statewide disaster emergency.

The Pennsylvania National Guard has told about 1,600 members to be ready to deploy for a storm response. In addition, the 56th Stryker Brigade combat team ended training a day early at Fort Indiantown Gap in Lebanon County to return to its base at Horsham Air Guard Station in suburban Philadelphia to prepare, said spokesman Maj. Edward Shank.

While forecasters say wind damage remains the main threat, there’s also a concern of flash flooding brought on by the torrential downpour through Tuesday.

Fortunately, the Susquehanna River and creeks are low, so major flooding is not anticipated. The rain has the potential to flood low-lying areas, streets and basements.

But there’s always the possibility of getting more rain than the computer models are predicting, Martin cautioned.

About 6 inches of rain is predicted through Tuesday, with the majority of it falling today, according to the National Weather Service. There’s a 50 percent chance of rain Wednesday and a 30 percent chance on Thursday, forecasters say. It will begin to dry out Friday, and sunshine is expected next weekend with temperatures in the 50s.

What’s significant about this slow-moving storm is its duration and diameter, Martin said.

“It’s exposing a large area of the East Coast,” he said. “It looks like the worst of it will be [this] afternoon to late Tuesday morning. But its effects could linger for days.”

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